Device for the metered removal of bulk material

Abstract

An apparatus for the metered removal of bulk material from a bin, the apparatus having a top bulk-material-filling opening, bottom bulk-material-removal opening, and a rotor that is connected in a driven manner to at least one sweeping arm disposed inside the bin near the bin's rotationally symmetrical floor and directed towards the removal opening. In order to create an apparatus for the removal of bulk material from a bin in which the mass of the removed bulk material not only can be metered very precisely, but which is also of simple design and easy to maintain, provision is made whereby the sweeping arm is attached on the bottom side of a separating element connected in a driven manner to the rotor, and whereby a settling zone is provided below the separating element in front of the sweeping arm, this zone only being open on one side to the bulk material through a feed opening, and on the other side to the removal opening.

1. An apparatus for the metered removal of bulk material from a bin having a top bulk-material-filling opening and a bottom bulk-material-removal opening, the apparatus comprising:
 a rotor; 
 a separating element operatively coupled to the rotor; 
 at least one sweeping arm coupled at a bottom side of the separating element and disposed inside the bin near a floor of the bin and directed towards the removal opening; 
 wherein a steadying zone is provided below the separating element in front of the sweeping arm, the steadying zone being open in the direction of the bulk material only through a feed opening in the separating element, the steadying zone being open in the direction of the removal opening. 
 
     
     
       2. The apparatus according to  claim 1 , wherein the separating element comprises the feed opening. 
     
     
       3. The apparatus according to  claim 2 , wherein a bulk material strand resting on the floor and being fed in below the rotating separating element is dissociated from the separating element. 
     
     
       4. The apparatus according to  claim 3 , wherein the separating element is a plate extending essentially transverse to the centerline of the bin. 
     
     
       5. The apparatus according to  claim 4 , wherein an effective surface of the feed opening extends essentially parallel to the rotational axis of the separating element. 
     
     
       6. The apparatus according to  claim 4 , further comprising a feed zone formed in front of the feed opening. 
     
     
       7. The apparatus according to  claim 3 , wherein the separating element has along its periphery a guide wall extending downward to the floor. 
     
     
       8. The apparatus according to  claim 7 , wherein the feed zone is delimited by a passage through the top side of the separating element. 
     
     
       9. The apparatus according to  claim 7 , wherein the periphery of the separating element is displaced radially inward along the feed zone. 
     
     
       10. The apparatus according to  claim 9 , wherein the sweeping arm is at a distance circumferentially relative to the feed opening and terminates at one end at the removal opening and transitions at the other end into the guide wall. 
     
     
       11. The apparatus according to  claim 10 , wherein the sweeping arm is a spiral sweeping arm, and wherein at least one section of the spiral sweeping arm forms part of the guide wall. 
     
     
       12. The apparatus according to  claim 11 , wherein the section of the sweeping arm delimits the feed zone. 
     
     
       13. The apparatus according to  claim 3 , wherein the separating element has a ramp rising from the lower end of the element. 
     
     
       14. The apparatus according to  claim 13 , wherein the ramp having a width, and wherein the feed opening is formed inside the width of the ramp. 
     
     
       15. The apparatus according to  claim 14 , wherein the ramp is of a greater height than the feed opening. 
     
     
       16. The apparatus according to  claim 7 , further comprising one or more additional sweeping arms attached to the bottom side of the separating element and being circumferentially spaced apart from each other, each sweeping arm having a different radial distances from the guide wall than the other sweeping arms. 
     
     
       17. The apparatus according to  claim 16 , wherein one segment each of the settling zone is formed in front of each sweeping arm. 
     
     
       18. The apparatus according to  claim 17 , wherein the segments are of different lengths circumferentially. 
     
     
       19. The apparatus according to  claim 16 , wherein the ends of the sweeping arms terminate at the removal opening at mutually identical circumferential distances. 
     
     
       20. The apparatus according to  claim 16 , wherein the sweeping arm(s) is/are directed in a straight line toward the removal opening. 
     
     
       21. The apparatus according to  claim 16 , wherein the sweeping arms have a spiral shape. 
     
     
       22. The apparatus according to  claim 21 , wherein the sweeping arms have the same curvature. 
     
     
       23. The apparatus according to  claim 16 , wherein the different radial distance of the sweeping arms from the guide wall allows each of the sweeping arms conveys a portion of the bulk material strand to the removal opening, while allow the remaining part of the bulk material strand to pass. 
     
     
       24. The apparatus according to  claim 7 , wherein a circumferential profile rises from the top side of the separating element along its rim, the profile engaging a circumferential undercut in the inside bin wall so as to create a labyrinth that prevents penetration of the bulk material. 
     
     
       25. The apparatus according to  claim 7 , wherein elastic elements such as, for example, springs are provided that press the floor against the sweeping arm(s) and the guide wall. 
     
     
       26. The apparatus according to  claim 1 , wherein the surface of the separating element is provided with an anti-adhesion coating. 
     
     
       27. The apparatus according to  claim 1 , wherein the top side of the separating element is designed in an outwardly tapered fashion analogous to a cone. 
     
     
       28. The apparatus according to  claim 1 , wherein the floor of the bin is removably attached to the bin. 
     
     
       29. The apparatus according to  claim 1 , wherein the floor is profiled according to the type of bulk material. 
     
     
       30. The apparatus according to  claim 1 , further comprising a stator provided above the separating element, the stator being connected to the bin and extending radially. 
     
     
       31. The apparatus according to  claim 30 , wherein the stator extends horizontally and approximately to the rotational axis. 
     
     
       32. The apparatus according to  claim 30 , wherein the stator is curved. 
     
     
       33. The apparatus according to  claim 30 , further comprising a separate cone is provided above the separating element, the cone being connected by radial braces to the bin wall. 
     
     
       34. The apparatus according to  claim 30 , further comprising an agitating element co-rotating with the separating element is provided above the stator or above the cone. 
     
     
       35. The apparatus according to  claim 34 , wherein the agitating element is rod-shaped and extends radially. 
     
     
       36. The apparatus according to  claim 1 , wherein the bin rests on a scale having weighing cells. 
     
     
       37. The apparatus according to  claim 36 , further comprising a controller connected with the weighing cells and having means to provide control signal for the speed of the motor actuator for the separating element or the bin, wherein the control signal is generated from a comparison between an actual discharge throughput signal and a set point, wherein the actual discharge throughput signal coming from a signal received by the weighing cells and from a timing element, and wherein the set point equals to a specified target discharge signal. 
     
     
       38. The apparatus according to  claim 37 , further comprising a charging door attached to the bin is controlled by an actuator motor that receives signals from the weighing cells. 
     
     
       39. An apparatus for the metered removal of bulk material from a bin, the bin having a floor, a removal opening in the floor, and a filling opening, the apparatus comprising:
 a rotor; 
 a separating element located in the bin and operatively coupled to the rotor, the separating element comprising:
 a plate; 
 an outer guide wall extending from a bottom side of the plate toward the floor of the bin; 
 a feed opening at least partially defined by the guide wall and the plate, and configured to receive bulk material; 
 at least one sweeping arm extending from a bottom side of the plate toward the removal opening and floor of the bin, the at least one sweeping arm configured to convey at least a portion of the bulk material from the feed opening and outer guide wall and inward into the removal opening; 
 a steadying zone at least partially defined by the plate and the sweeping arm, the steadying zone being open in a first direction only toward the feed opening and open in a second direction toward the removal opening of the bin.